Second in the series of Indian culinary workshops, DSB conducted “HOT INDIA” on 8th April’ 14. This workshop like the previous one (HOT DELHI – read the article here) was conducted in partnership with moitie-moitie.
HOT INDIA was a step closer towards encouraging people from non-Indian background to get to know insights of Indian culinary arts. Having spent more than a year at Montreal, i have come to a few conclusions :
- People find Indian food fascinating and mysterious – Well i guess this is pretty clear from the fact that Montreal has in-numerous Indian food joints. People in general love Indian spice blends in the form of famous butter chicken or Shahi Paneer. Why i like to define it as “mysterious” is because people often get amused seeing the number of spices and herbs that go in even a simple Indian preparation. Many people find it interesting how a common Indian knows the characteristic of spices they use in daily cooking and how various combinations of common spices create absolutely different flavours.
- People think that all Indian foods are rich, very spicy and difficult to prepare
Keeping these factors in mind, i decided to keep a fairly simple menu comprising of dishes using easy ingredients, easy on spices, not too rich and easy to follow
THE FOOD
The idea of the workshop was to let people experience the true Indian food and motivate them to try recreate the recipes at home. The menu consisted of :-
- Paneer Tikka
- Potato peas Samosa
- Masala Chai
- Tamarind Chutney
- Coconut ladoo
we also served a few interesting appetizers
- Veg Shammi Kebabs
- Mint-coriander Chutney
- Rose lassi
Recipes like Paneer tikka, veg shammi kebabs and coconut ladoo are not only great in taste but have easy preparations, includes hearty portion of vegetables and use very little oil. Off course Potato Peas Samosa is fried and comforting but that was an exception. Montrealers love samosas and it is very popular. I think i can easily assume that you can find atleast one shop selling samosas in a radius of 5 kms near you. Loads of people wanted to learn the art of making samosas and be able to create the Indian experience within the comforts of their homes.
We welcomed the participants with veg shammi kebabs, mint coriander chutney and rose lassi. The combination was so amazing that the kebab were over within minutes … even before i could grab myself one 😛 What better joy for a chef.
Some might wonder, why we taught making chai? For Indian readers here this might sound like a ridiculous idea, specially since Indians start their morning with a hot cup of chai, everyday. Reason – I have been served nothing closer to an Indian chai when i order a chai tea at various food joints. Last workshop when we served participants chai along with dessert, it was a massive hit and everyone asked for the recipe. I thought this was the perfect opportunity !
Recipes were constructed with ‘simple to follow’ steps and with basic Indian ingredients so that people could follow easily.
The class got over with us handing over recipe cards and spice kits to participants along with loving hugs.
THE PEOPLE
True as it is, workshop’s success depends on the company of people attending it. If u have an enthusiastic, self initiated and motivated group, the workshop just picks up momentum and the class becomes a fun learning experience for all. I think this is the perfect description of how this workshop was.
The group consisted of fun people who loved to share stories, interact and participate in creating the dishes. The whole process was collaborative and everyone got a chance to own their share of work in the preparations : everyone tried their hands at folding samosas and skewing the paneer tikkas… we even had a dough kneading competition for the samosas 😛 It was just so much fun
We got great feedback on the workshop overall and people loved to cook and eat self made Indian food. It is always so satisfying to eat own cooked food. Dishes were not completely professional in looks as it was participant’s first attempt but hey it’s home cooked food… it has its own charismatic charm ! If home food looked and tasted just like eating out, trust me, it won’t be any fun.
WHAT’S NEXT
This is the exciting part right ? So here it is.. to keep the cooking spree going forward, Divine Spice Box will be participating along with Moitie-moitie and friends in a one day RESTAURANT EVENT !! Did i hear a “hurray” ? 🙂
This 17th May, we would be offering some delicious home cooked delicacies from an International palate to you in Montreal. Details will be up soon ! For now, refer to the restaurant day site and look up for event ” MOITIE-MOITIE” in Montreal, QC to keep updated.
It is an event not to be missed… If u are a foodie (i presume u are if u are reading this :P) and love to spend an afternoon eating some International delights in Montreal, do join us and give us a chance to serve you 🙂
Bon Appetite !
